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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: stock · cap · chest · vault · fan · racket · face · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. chest — a box
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cap — a lid
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — to point toward
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — the season

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