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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: clip · firm · vault · mine · face · stem · season · ground

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. season — in sport
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. firm — steady
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stem — to come from
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — a video
  12. vault — a safe
  13. ground — crushed
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — a position
  17. season — of the year
  18. face — to point toward
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — part of the head
  23. ground — the earth
  24. stem — of a plant

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