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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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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: hand · date · cabinet · clip · drill · rest · stock · bowl

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. hand — in cards
  8. clip — for paper
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stock — shares
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. stock — goods
  22. drill — army training
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hand — help

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