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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. field — farmland
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stock — goods
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bank — for money
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stock — shares
  18. bank — of a river
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bank — for money
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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