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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: face · fork · vault · nail · hand · track · clip · press

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — to cut
  4. face — to point toward
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. hand — help
  8. face — part of the head
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. press — to push
  14. hand — in cards
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. clip — a video
  17. track — to keep track
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. face — to confront
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. press — a publisher
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fork — in a road
  24. nail — for a hammer

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