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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: clip · vault · shower · dip · mark · wind · stock · root

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. 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. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — to cut
  6. root — of a word
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wind — moving air
  9. vault — a safe
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. root — of a plant
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stock — shares
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mark — a grade
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — the cause
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. 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