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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: stock · march · cell · lean · vault · perch · ball · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. ball — a dance
  7. perch — the fish
  8. march — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. march — the month
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fall — the season
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stock — shares
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. march — the month
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cell — in biology
  24. vault — a safe

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