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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 · wind · fork · chest · face

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. march — the month
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chest — a box
  5. face — to point toward
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — music
  9. face — part of the head
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — in a road
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — of your body

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