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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. land — ground
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. ball — a dance
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. content — the amount
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. content — happy
  22. ball — a great time
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. ball — a round shape

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