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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. vault — a safe
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mate — a partner
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. tube — the underground
  9. file — a document
  10. kid — to tease
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stock — shares
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stock — goods
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kid — child
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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