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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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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: land · rush · wind · fall · present · mate · lie · vault

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — ground
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. present — there
  9. mate — to breed
  10. lie — to recline
  11. fall — the season
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fall — to drop
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mate — a friend
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — a gift
  23. vault — a safe
  24. present — the time now

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