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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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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: vault · sharp · stock · craft · stem · hide · wind · tear

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stock — goods
  3. tear — from crying
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. craft — boats
  9. vault — a safe
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. stock — shares
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. craft — a skill
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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