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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. pound — a weight
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. spring — the season
  9. file — a tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. last — to go on
  12. stock — shares
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stock — goods
  16. last — finally
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. last — final
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. file — a document

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