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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: nail · court · fine · field · vault · chest · degree · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — of law
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chest — of your body
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — farmland
  15. fine — all right
  16. field — a subject
  17. court — for sport
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fine — high quality
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — for sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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