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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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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: land · bulb · stem · vault · bank · key · bat · wound

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. stem — to come from
  4. key — in music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — a country
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bat — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bank — for money
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. vault — a safe

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