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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · calf · march · pound · press · wound · vault · cell

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. last — final
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — an injury
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. last — to go on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. press — to push
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cell — a phone
  20. vault — a safe
  21. cell — in biology
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pound — a weight

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com