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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. chest — a box
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stock — shares
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. vault — a safe
  7. land — ground
  8. field — farmland
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. chest — of your body
  13. land — to come down
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. land — a country
  18. pitch — completely
  19. field — a subject
  20. rash — a series
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. field — for sport
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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