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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spring — a coil
  3. vault — a safe
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. land — to come down
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mate — a friend
  8. land — a country
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. branch — a division
  12. mate — to breed
  13. field — for sport
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — a subject
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. field — farmland
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. mate — a partner

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