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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: arm · vault · wake · stock · band · bay · last · squash

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. last — final
  2. band — a ring
  3. stock — shares
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. vault — a safe
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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