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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: lie · tube · field · land · club · vault · wave · fork

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. land — a country
  4. club — a group
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lie — to recline
  7. vault — a safe
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — ground
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fork — in a road
  15. club — for golf
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. club — for dancing
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. land — to come down

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