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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: bark · wind · land · mine · rule · vault · patient · jam

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. land — ground
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. land — to come down
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. land — a country
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rule — a law
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. rule — government
  24. jam — a tight spot

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