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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: bark · capital · bowl · clip · cue · leaves · stock · wave

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. clip — a video
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cue — for pool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bark — to shout
  18. capital — a city
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. capital — a big letter

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