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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 116 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — not warm
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — the season
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. current — happening now
  9. pass — a permit
  10. current — electric
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. spring — a coil
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. spring — of water
  20. current — of water
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. leaves — to go away

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