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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. stock — shares
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. staff — employees
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. staff — a stick
  11. stand — to bear
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. vault — a safe
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. cell — a phone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cold — not warm

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