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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: nail · stock · content · vault · kick · prune · last · rule

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. last — finally
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. content — happy
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rule — a law
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stock — shares
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — government
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stock — goods
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. last — to go on
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. last — final
  24. nail — for a hammer

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