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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: chair · wake · patient · bore · row · vault · face · band

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. face — to confront
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bore — to tire
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. band — a music group
  13. bore — to drill
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. face — part of the head
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a leader
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. band — a ring

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