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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — a video
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. clip — for paper
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. can — to be able to
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. plane — a tool
  19. clip — to cut
  20. can — a tin
  21. kid — child
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stock — shares
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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