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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. race — a contest
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cell — in biology
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stock — shares
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. file — a line of people
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. can — a tin
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. race — humankind
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stock — goods
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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