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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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spell — magic
  4. bound — obliged
  5. season — in sport
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. fine — all right
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fine — high quality
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spell — letters
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bound — certain
  24. season — of the year

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