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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · stock · pound · wind · pop · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stock — shares
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — music
  12. mate — a friend
  13. vault — a safe
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stock — goods
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pop — soda

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