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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · fine · vault · wound · season · patient · last · trunk

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fine — high quality
  3. last — finally
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. last — to go on
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. season — in sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — final
  17. fine — all right
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — a box
  24. trunk — of a car

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