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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: key · chest · bass · vault · fall · march · bowl · last

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fall — the season
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. march — music
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. key — the most important part
  10. march — the month
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bass — low music
  14. chest — a box
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. key — in music
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bass — the fish
  22. march — the month
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bass — the instrument

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