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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 120 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: drill · land · field · row · bank · lean · vault · clip

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. vault — in gymnastics
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. land — ground
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. lean — thin
  10. drill — a practice
  11. land — to come down
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — for sport
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bank — of a river
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — a country
  20. bank — for money
  21. lean — to bend
  22. row — a line
  23. drill — army training
  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