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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. stock — goods
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — to paddle
  6. object — to protest
  7. net — in sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. net — after costs
  14. row — a line
  15. object — an aim
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. perch — the fish
  18. object — a thing
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — shares
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — for catching
  24. temple — a place of worship

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