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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. vault — a safe
  3. stem — to come from
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. game — a match
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. game — wild animals
  10. sharp — clever
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stock — shares
  15. file — a tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bass — the fish
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. file — a document

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