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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: vault · last · field · race · tube · wake · lean · face

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. last — finally
  3. field — a subject
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. last — to go on
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — a container
  14. lean — to bend
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — farmland
  17. last — final
  18. vault — a safe
  19. face — part of the head
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. race — a contest
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. lean — thin

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