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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — to rip
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stock — shares
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chip — to eat
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. vault — a safe
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. game — wild animals

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