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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 120 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: spring · saw · vault · charge · nail · chest · stock · cue

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spring — a coil
  7. charge — a price
  8. chest — of your body
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cue — a signal
  12. charge — in control
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spring — the season
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — of water
  17. vault — a safe
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stock — goods
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — a box
  24. stock — shares

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