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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 · land · bound · field · cabinet · mine · row · spring

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spring — of water
  5. land — ground
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. row — a line
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. spring — the season
  11. land — to come down
  12. field — farmland
  13. vault — a safe
  14. field — a subject
  15. bound — obliged
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bound — certain
  19. land — a country
  20. field — for sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cabinet — ministers

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