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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: temple · present · spring · vault · stock · field · rule · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — the time now
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. field — farmland
  9. vault — a safe
  10. field — a subject
  11. present — there
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. field — for sport
  14. rule — a law
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. spring — of water
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. spring — a coil
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. present — a gift
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — government
  24. stock — goods

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