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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. branch — a division
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. march — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — to come from
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. clip — for paper

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