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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — tied together
  5. fall — to drop
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — shares
  9. bound — certain
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fall — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pit — in a race
  17. club — a group
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. pit — a hole
  21. vault — a safe
  22. club — for golf
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wind — to turn a key

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