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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. march — the month
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bulb — for light
  13. face — to confront
  14. march — music
  15. face — to point toward
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. march — the month
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — shares
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stock — goods

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