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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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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: vault · fork · stock · net · chest · jam · scale · prune

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chest — of your body
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. prune — to trim
  6. scale — size or range
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chest — a box
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. stock — goods
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chest — of your body
  16. net — in sport
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — shares
  20. fork — in a road
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. net — after costs
  23. scale — in music
  24. net — for catching

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