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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 116 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: shower · vault · squash · pop · trunk · march · spring · stock

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. shower — to wash
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pop — soda
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pop — music
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. squash — the sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stock — goods
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. vault — a safe
  20. pop — to visit
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. march — music

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