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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. pop — music
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — for sport
  7. land — to come down
  8. drill — the tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — to cut
  12. net — after costs
  13. vault — a safe
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — farmland
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pop — to visit
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. land — ground
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — for paper
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — a practice

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