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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: stock · wind · race · vault · lash · court · trunk · capital

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. vault — a safe
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stock — goods
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. race — a contest
  9. court — of law
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a city
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. race — humankind
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. stock — shares

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