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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 120 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: face · last · cell · dip · spring · vault · content · plane

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. last — final
  3. spring — the season
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. last — finally
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. content — happy
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. vault — a safe
  12. plane — a tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cell — in biology
  16. content — the amount
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. last — to go on
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spring — of water

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