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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pound — a weight
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. spring — of water
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stock — goods
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — soda
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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