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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: craft · scale · clip · pop · bound · kid · board · stock

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. craft — boats
  5. bound — certain
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. board — a committee
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — a video
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stock — goods
  14. board — to get on
  15. bound — tied together
  16. stock — shares
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — a skill
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pop — soda
  24. scale — in music

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