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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. vault — a safe
  4. stem — to come from
  5. drill — army training
  6. pound — a weight
  7. clip — for paper
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — to crush
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. clip — to cut
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. drill — the tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. clip — a video

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