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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — goods
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fork — in a road
  16. staff — a stick
  17. cold — an illness
  18. staff — employees
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. stock — shares
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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