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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: wound · chip · rule · bass · vault · track · row · field

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. track — a song
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. rule — a law
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — a subject
  13. track — a path
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chip — to eat
  16. row — a line
  17. field — for sport
  18. track — to keep track
  19. field — farmland
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bass — low music
  24. wound — an injury

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