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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. craft — boats
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. land — ground
  5. stock — goods
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. land — to come down
  8. vault — a safe
  9. stock — shares
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rule — government
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — an amount
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. plane — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. land — a country
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rule — to rule out

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