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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 120 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: wound · rock · tear · vault · land · track · cell · temple

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — ground
  3. track — a path
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rock — a stone
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. track — a song
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tear — from crying
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. land — a country
  23. track — to keep track
  24. temple — side of the head

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