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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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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: kid · drill · march · plane · mouse · vault · land · bat

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. march — the month
  4. land — to come down
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. land — ground
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. drill — army training
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. land — a country
  12. march — music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kid — child
  17. drill — the tool
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. vault — a safe
  21. plane — a tool
  22. kid — to tease
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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