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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: lean · wake · vault · net · court · stock · scale · content

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. court — of a king
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. content — the amount
  10. stock — goods
  11. scale — size or range
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — shares
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. scale — in music
  18. net — for catching
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. vault — a safe
  21. court — of law
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. court — for sport
  24. wake — a trail

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