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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. can — a tin
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. kid — to tease
  13. can — to be able to
  14. stock — shares
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kid — child
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. vault — a safe

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