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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: stock · bore · bass · tube · face · content · file · vault

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stock — shares
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — part of the head
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bore — to tire
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bass — low music
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stock — goods
  14. file — a document
  15. face — to confront
  16. bore — to drill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. content — the amount
  19. file — a tool
  20. bass — the fish
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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