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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: vault · land · season · present · tear · hand

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. 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. land — to come down
  2. vault — a safe
  3. hand — in cards
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. present — the time now
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. land — ground
  10. tear — from crying
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. 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