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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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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 · temple · rest · mine · cold · wake · stock · mark

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. rest — what's left
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stock — goods
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — a break
  11. mine — for digging
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stock — shares
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wake — before a funeral

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