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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: stock · vault · field · mine · roll · wax · rush · file

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — a subject
  4. file — a tool
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. field — farmland
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rush — hurry
  13. file — a document
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. stock — goods
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. field — for sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wax — to grow
  22. roll — a list
  23. file — a line of people
  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