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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — goods
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. sharp — clever
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — a safe
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rule — a law
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spring — of water
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rule — government
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rash — a series
  24. stock — shares

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