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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: straw · clip · tube · track · stock · foot · wind · bark

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — to shout
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stock — goods
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — shares
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. clip — for paper
  15. track — a path
  16. wind — moving air
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. straw — dry grass

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