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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. land — a country
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. land — ground
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — to come down
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — goods
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. vault — a safe
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stock — shares
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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