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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: kid · calf · clip · plane · straw · stock · rush · wound

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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 — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. stock — shares
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rush — hurry
  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