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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: rest · firm · capital · safe · vault · row · stock · clip

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. firm — a company
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stock — goods
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. firm — steady
  10. vault — a safe
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rest — a break
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — shares
  18. rest — what's left
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. firm — decided

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