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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. vault — a safe
  6. stock — shares
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — goods
  9. chest — a box
  10. snap — to click
  11. file — a document
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. file — a tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rush — hurry
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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