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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ground — a position
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ground — the earth
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. stock — shares
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cell — in biology
  24. game — wild animals

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