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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 116 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: hide · branch · tear · content · squash · tube · vault · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stock — shares
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. tear — to rip
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tube — a container
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — a division
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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