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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 116 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 · bank · bat · field · hand · fork · vault · wax

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. face — to confront
  2. field — a subject
  3. bank — for money
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. field — for sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. hand — help
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. face — to point toward
  14. hand — in cards
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bank — for money
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bank — of a river
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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