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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rash — hasty
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. land — a country
  6. vault — a safe
  7. spring — of water
  8. land — ground
  9. spring — the season
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spring — a coil
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. club — for dancing
  24. coach — a trainer

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