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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: clip · track · tube · press · stem · stock · wind · chip

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — shares
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tube — a container
  6. stock — goods
  7. tube — the underground
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — to eat
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. track — to keep track
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. track — a song
  19. press — to push
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stem — to come from
  24. track — a path

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