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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: vault · tear · patient · firm · press · stick · wind · date

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. firm — a company
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. firm — decided
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. press — to push
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. firm — steady
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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