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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: face · bound · fine · bass · cold · bat · vault · land

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bass — low music
  7. land — a country
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bat — the animal
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fine — high quality
  20. face — to confront
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bound — certain
  23. bass — the fish
  24. vault — a safe

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