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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — shares
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a grade
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — moving air

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