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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — to come from
  5. spring — the season
  6. vault — a safe
  7. field — farmland
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. field — a subject
  18. stock — shares
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. plane — a tool

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