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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — in music
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. season — in sport
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — goods
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bound — obliged
  20. vault — a safe
  21. season — of the year
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. scale — size or range
  24. sharp — clever

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