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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: vault · patient · pitcher · chest · stock · mine · mouse · row

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — a line
  10. chest — a box
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stock — goods
  18. mine — for digging
  19. vault — a safe
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitcher — a jug

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