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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: land · vault · track · stand · prune · clip · leaves · court

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. track — to keep track
  3. vault — a safe
  4. track — a path
  5. clip — a video
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — ground
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. prune — to trim
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. court — for sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. track — a song
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. land — to come down

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