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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: vault · bound · land · swing · wake · ground · field · rash

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. land — to come down
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wake — a trail
  5. swing — in golf
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. field — farmland
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — ground
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. ground — a position
  15. land — a country
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. ground — the earth
  19. swing — to play on
  20. field — a subject
  21. bound — obliged
  22. ground — crushed
  23. swing — music
  24. bound — certain

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