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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stock — shares
  3. scale — in music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ball — a great time
  9. scale — size or range
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. content — happy
  14. bass — the fish
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stock — goods
  22. bass — low music
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. plane — a tool

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