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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: rock · wake · patient · coach · ground · vault · fan · tear

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rock — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wake — a trail
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ground — the earth
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tear — to rip
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. rock — a stone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — a position
  24. coach — a trainer

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