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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: cold · mark · foot · stock · bank · sharp · spring · vault

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. spring — the season
  3. foot — a measure
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cold — an illness
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bank — for money
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mark — a trace
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bank — of a river
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. stock — shares
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. spring — of water
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bank — for money
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. stock — a soup base

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