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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. stock — goods
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rule — government
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. season — in sport
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stock — shares
  18. row — a line
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. season — of the year
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rule — a law
  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