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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: fall · safe · bear · stock · clip · straw · mine · deal

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. clip — a video
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. fall — to drop
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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