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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. last — final
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. object — a thing
  6. last — finally
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. swing — to play on
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. object — to protest
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. swing — in golf
  17. last — to go on
  18. swing — music

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