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

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. kid — child
  4. tear — to rip
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. chip — for betting
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. chip — to eat
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. tear — from crying

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