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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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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: bear · vault · chest · ruler · bat · march · face · wound

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chest — a box
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. vault — a safe
  21. face — to confront
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — for measuring

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