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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 · chest · track · court · vault · date · row · scale

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. scale — size or range
  3. court — for sport
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. scale — in music
  6. track — a path
  7. date — the fruit
  8. court — of a king
  9. vault — a safe
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — of law
  13. stock — shares
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — a line
  18. stock — goods
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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