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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: land · vault · shower · trunk · stock · march

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. shower — to wash
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — the month
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. land — a country
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. shower — rain
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. land — ground
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. stock — goods
  16. march — music
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — the month

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