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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: ball · vault · straw · lie · craft · patient · mug · fall

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ball — a great time
  3. craft — a skill
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mug — to rob
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mug — a face
  8. fall — the season
  9. mug — a cup
  10. vault — a safe
  11. fall — to drop
  12. craft — boats
  13. fall — to drop
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. straw — a straw man

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