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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: bass · saw · land · vault · stock · cue · sharp · fork

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. land — a country
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. land — ground
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. vault — a safe
  15. fork — in a road
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cue — a hint
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — to come down
  24. saw — the tool

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