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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: stock · ground · tear · cue · rule · kid · vault · straw

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. cue — a signal
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. tear — from crying
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rule — government
  10. stock — shares
  11. ground — a position
  12. vault — a safe
  13. stock — goods
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — child
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — for pool
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stock — a soup base

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