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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. staff — employees
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. game — wild animals
  8. court — for sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. court — of law
  12. game — a match
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. court — of a king
  17. pound — a weight
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — shares
  24. game — a kind of play

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