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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: march · track · rest · tear · land · pitcher · vault · mine

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. track — a path
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tear — from crying
  6. vault — a safe
  7. land — to come down
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. land — a country
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — from crying
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. land — ground
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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