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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · lie · hand · nail · vault · press · face · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — to confront
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. hand — help
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. press — to push
  11. hand — in cards
  12. press — newspapers
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. roll — a list
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. vault — a safe
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lie — to recline
  23. press — a publisher
  24. lie — an untruth

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