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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
468
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: field · ground · spring · cell · land · lean · wave · vault

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. land — ground
  3. ground — crushed
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. field — farmland
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. spring — of water
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — a country
  14. ground — the earth
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — a subject
  19. spring — a coil
  20. land — to come down
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lean — thin
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. field — for sport

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