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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 116 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 · vault · track · shower · field · snap · staff · hand

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — rain
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. shower — to wash
  10. field — farmland
  11. stock — goods
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. track — to keep track
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. vault — a safe
  18. track — a path
  19. stock — shares
  20. snap — to click
  21. field — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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