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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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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: bat · spell · drill · sharp · bark · vault · tear · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. spell — letters
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spell — a short time
  6. drill — the tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. sharp — clever
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bark — to shout
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — magic
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. tear — to rip
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. drill — army training
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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