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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. chip — to eat
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chip — for betting
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. field — a subject
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. land — a country
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stock — shares
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — goods
  16. land — to come down
  17. rest — a break
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mate — a partner
  20. land — ground
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rest — what's left
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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