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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: fork · wound · bass · vault · rule · mate · land · lash

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. land — a country
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — a safe
  12. land — to come down
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rule — government
  16. mate — a partner
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mate — to breed
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. rule — a law
  22. mate — a friend
  23. land — ground
  24. fork — in a road

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