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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. tear — to rip
  3. club — for dancing
  4. land — a country
  5. vault — a safe
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — to come down
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. land — ground
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. date — the fruit
  17. club — for golf
  18. shower — rain
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. club — a group
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stock — shares
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tear — from crying

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