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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stock — shares
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. staff — employees
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. vault — a safe
  14. staff — a stick
  15. rash — a series
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — goods
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. staff — employees

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