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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: chest · jam · patient · face · perch · vault · cap · fall

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. face — to point toward
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — a box
  7. fall — to drop
  8. face — to confront
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fall — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cap — a hat
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. perch — the fish
  19. face — part of the head
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cap — of ice
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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