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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. rock — a stone
  3. stock — shares
  4. squash — the sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. net — in sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. clip — a video
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rock — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. net — for catching
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. net — after costs
  24. stock — goods

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