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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: vault · stock · race · bat · last · track · mug · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. track — a song
  5. stock — goods
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. last — final
  12. vault — a safe
  13. race — a contest
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bat — the animal
  16. race — humankind
  17. mug — to rob
  18. prune — to trim
  19. race — the arms race
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. stock — shares
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — a path

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