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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — of water
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. last — final
  5. deal — to handle
  6. stock — goods
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. last — to go on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. key — for a lock
  13. spring — the season
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. stock — shares
  17. ground — crushed
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. vault — a safe
  20. ground — the earth
  21. key — in music
  22. last — finally
  23. key — the most important part
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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