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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kid — child
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. face — to confront
  7. game — a match
  8. stock — goods
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mug — a face
  11. kid — to tease
  12. track — a song
  13. vault — a safe
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. clip — a video
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. clip — to cut
  20. face — part of the head
  21. stock — shares
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a cup

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