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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: vault · last · patient · ball · face · hand · bound · press

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bound — obliged
  5. hand — in cards
  6. press — to push
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ball — a dance
  12. vault — a safe
  13. hand — help
  14. last — to go on
  15. bound — certain
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — final
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. ball — a great time
  21. face — part of the head
  22. last — finally
  23. press — newspapers
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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