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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: face · land · vault · tear · march · spell · bay · sharp

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — a short time
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spell — letters
  8. land — to come down
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. face — to point toward
  14. land — a country
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. face — to confront
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. face — part of the head
  20. spell — magic
  21. land — ground
  22. vault — a safe
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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