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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — a safe
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bound — certain
  9. scale — size or range
  10. land — to come down
  11. field — farmland
  12. stock — shares
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. scale — in music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. land — a country
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. land — ground

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