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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. stock — goods
  5. file — a document
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. race — humankind
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — a contest
  16. can — a tin
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. file — a tool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — rain
  24. race — the arms race

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