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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: vault · march · squash · mine · mate · stick · plane · tear

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. march — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the sport
  6. vault — a safe
  7. mine — for digging
  8. march — the month
  9. mate — a partner
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — a friend
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. plane — a tool
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mate — to breed
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — the vegetable

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