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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: mine · lie · row · vault · field · clip · present · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. present — the time now
  5. land — a country
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. land — ground
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — a subject
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. present — there
  14. row — a line
  15. field — for sport
  16. vault — a safe
  17. clip — to cut
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. present — a gift
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lie — to recline
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — farmland

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