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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. vault — a safe
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stock — goods
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stock — shares
  14. shower — rain
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wound — an injury
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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