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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. stock — goods
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. snap — to click
  5. vault — a safe
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kid — child
  12. pop — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stock — shares
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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