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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. drill — army training
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stock — shares
  11. capital — money
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. game — a match
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. capital — a city
  21. bass — the fish
  22. drill — the tool
  23. stock — goods
  24. bulb — for light

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