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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: wound · mine · pass · field · race · bank · lie · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — a contest
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bank — of a river
  5. land — a country
  6. field — farmland
  7. lie — to recline
  8. land — to come down
  9. field — a subject
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bank — for money
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pass — a permit
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bank — for money
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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