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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. branch — a division
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. vault — a safe
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. present — a gift
  15. stock — goods
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. press — to push
  18. fork — in a road
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — of your body
  23. press — newspapers
  24. present — there

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