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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. field — a subject
  5. hand — help
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stock — shares
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fork — in a road
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. hand — part of the body

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