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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: dip · bound · field · vault · hand · land · prune · leaves

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bound — tied together
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. bound — obliged
  8. field — farmland
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bound — certain
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. dip — to sink
  15. prune — to trim
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — for sport
  19. vault — a safe
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. field — a subject
  22. land — to come down
  23. hand — in cards
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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