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

Word bank: land · saw · mine · vault · stem · snap · tear · scale

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. tear — to rip
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — in music
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. tear — from crying
  12. vault — a safe
  13. scale — size or range
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. snap — to click
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — for digging

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