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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cell — a phone
  3. band — a ring
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rest — a break
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. stock — goods
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spell — letters
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. spell — magic
  18. stock — shares
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — a safe
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. straw — a straw man

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