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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · press · spring · clip · tear · vault

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — the season
  4. press — a publisher
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. tear — to rip
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — shares
  11. spring — of water
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tear — from crying

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