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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: coach · patient · vault · prune · kid · last · face · bass

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bass — the fish
  3. face — to point toward
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. last — finally
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — to go on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bass — low music
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. face — part of the head
  17. kid — child
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. last — final
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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