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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: plane · bowl · date · hand · stock · vault · trunk · saw

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. saw — the tool
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — help
  7. stock — shares
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. saw — the tool
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. vault — a safe
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. plane — a 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