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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: net · drill · stock · clip · vault · rule · safe · wind

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. drill — army training
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. stock — goods
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stock — shares
  9. net — for catching
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. net — in sport
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. vault — a safe
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rule — a law
  24. wind — moving air

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