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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. vault — a safe
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. land — ground
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stock — goods
  13. land — a country
  14. court — for sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — of law
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stock — shares
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. scale — size or range
  22. land — to come down
  23. court — of a king
  24. sharp — clever

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