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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 · rock · pound · pop · cold · stick · face · patient

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. vault — a safe
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rock — music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rock — a stone
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. pop — soda
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pop — music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. face — part of the head
  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