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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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 — shares
  2. clip — for paper
  3. root — the cause
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. root — of a plant
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. file — a document
  14. kick — in football
  15. clip — to cut
  16. root — of a word
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pass — a permit
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kid — to tease
  22. file — a tool
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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