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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. toast — bread
  3. stock — goods
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. stock — shares
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — to paddle
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cap — a hat
  13. craft — boats
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. field — a subject
  19. cap — a lid
  20. row — a line
  21. vault — a safe
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cap — of ice
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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