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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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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: lie · cold · land · vault · dip · content · fine · wind

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — the amount
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. dip — to sink
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fine — high quality
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cold — not warm
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fine — all right
  24. vault — a safe

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