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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — the fish
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. swing — to play on
  5. stock — goods
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. club — for dancing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. swing — in golf
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. club — for golf
  16. rule — a law
  17. club — a group
  18. rule — government
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cell — a phone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. swing — music
  24. date — the fruit

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