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

Word bank: land · bark · vault · fall · pound · mine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. fall — the season
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — to come down
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. land — ground
  17. mine — for digging
  18. land — a country

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