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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: wind · vault · bound · fine · cell · patient

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bound — tied together
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bound — obliged
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bound — certain
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fine — high quality
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology

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