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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. stock — goods
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — money
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. kick — in football
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. present — there
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. present — a gift
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stock — shares
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — a city
  22. track — a path
  23. season — of the year
  24. present — the time now

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