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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. row — a line
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. row — to paddle
  7. date — the fruit
  8. chest — a box
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — goods
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — final
  14. present — a gift
  15. last — finally
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. present — there
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. present — the time now
  24. last — to go on

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