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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. land — to come down
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. stock — goods
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. stock — shares
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. net — in sport
  22. rash — a series
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — the Cold War

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