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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. object — an aim
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — a face
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — the amount
  16. wake — a trail
  17. object — a thing
  18. content — happy
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stock — goods
  21. game — a match
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. object — to protest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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