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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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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: vault · perch · tube · content · date · stock · bay · wind

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — shares
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. tube — a container
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stock — goods
  11. content — the amount
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tube — the underground
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. vault — a safe
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. perch — the fish
  22. content — happy
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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