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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: pitcher · face · wind · vault · band · fall · stem · board

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. board — to get on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — to come from
  7. band — a ring
  8. face — to confront
  9. fall — the season
  10. face — to point toward
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. band — a music group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fall — to drop

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