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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rash — a series
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tube — a container
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — a straw man

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