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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stock — goods
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — to rip
  6. current — happening now
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. stock — shares
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — a stone
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. current — electric
  22. current — of water
  23. lean — to bend
  24. vault — a safe

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