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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: vault · drill · face · wind · chest · mate

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. drill — army training
  6. mate — to breed
  7. drill — a practice
  8. face — to confront
  9. mate — a friend
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  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