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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stock — goods
  13. vault — a safe
  14. present — there
  15. spell — letters
  16. last — final
  17. present — the time now
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. spell — magic
  22. kid — child
  23. last — to go on
  24. spell — a short time

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