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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: wake · tube · wind · track · vault · temple · land · season

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — to come down
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — ground
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. season — in sport
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tube — the underground
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. track — a path
  12. vault — a safe
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. season — of the year
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. tube — a container
  19. track — to keep track
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. land — a country
  24. track — a song

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