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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bound — certain
  3. stock — goods
  4. land — to come down
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stock — shares
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. land — ground
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. content — happy
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — a match
  17. content — the amount
  18. land — a country
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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