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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: cold · tear · plane · vault · toast · roll · patient · bass

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tear — from crying
  9. vault — a safe
  10. roll — a list
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bass — low music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cold — an illness
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. tear — from crying
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. roll — on a roll

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