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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stock — shares
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. vault — a safe
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — farmland
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — a subject
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. field — for sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stock — goods
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. patient — a sick person

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