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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. last — to go on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. last — final
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. last — finally
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pitch — completely
  10. stock — goods
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — to cut
  19. vault — a safe
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fall — the season
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — for paper

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