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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: staff · calf · stock · fan · straw · mine · temple · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. stock — shares
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — to cut
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. staff — a stick
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stock — goods
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. staff — employees
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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