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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: fall · stock · clip · cap · vault · bark · game · bear

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bark — to shout
  6. stock — shares
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fall — the season
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stock — goods
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cap — a lid
  17. vault — a safe
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — a video
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. game — wild animals

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