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

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — shares
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. band — a music group
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. vault — a safe
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mine — for digging
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. stock — goods
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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