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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kick — in football
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. stock — goods
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to click
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — for sport
  19. vault — a safe
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — a position
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ground — crushed

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