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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 120 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: cell · stock · tear · clip · key · nail · chair · rule

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. key — the most important part
  7. tear — to rip
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. clip — a video
  14. key — in music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stock — goods
  17. rule — government
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — a leader
  20. key — for a lock
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stock — shares

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