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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: court · rule · kid · vault · sharp · mate · mine · stock

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. court — of law
  3. rule — government
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stock — shares
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. kid — child
  11. stock — goods
  12. court — for sport
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. vault — a safe
  15. mate — to breed
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rule — a law
  19. court — of a king
  20. sharp — clever
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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