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

Word bank: squash · vault · snap · fall · stock · tear

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — the sport
  4. snap — to click
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fall — the season
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fall — to drop
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stock — goods
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — to rip
  16. vault — a safe
  17. stock — shares
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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