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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 120 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
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: chest · capital · vault · stock · bear · bore · mine · hand

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. capital — money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chest — a box
  12. capital — a city
  13. hand — help
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — in cards
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bore — gave birth

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