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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. court — for sport
  3. chest — a box
  4. march — the month
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — music
  8. stock — goods
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. march — the month
  13. stock — shares
  14. date — the fruit
  15. object — an aim
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — to protest
  20. court — of law
  21. spell — a short time
  22. object — a thing
  23. court — of a king
  24. vault — a safe

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