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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. board — a committee
  5. track — a song
  6. current — of water
  7. board — to get on
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. current — electric
  16. stock — goods
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. current — happening now
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wake — a trail

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