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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: arm · last · vault · stock · straw · rash · mouse · tear

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rash — a series
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. last — to go on
  14. vault — a safe
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — goods
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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