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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: nail · mine · vault · mug · wound · field · lean · club

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lean — to bend
  3. club — for dancing
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. club — a group
  6. mug — to rob
  7. lean — thin
  8. vault — a safe
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. mug — a cup
  13. field — for sport
  14. mine — for digging
  15. field — farmland
  16. mug — a face
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. club — for golf
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. field — a subject

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