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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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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: cold · pit · stock · wind · clip · root · deal · mark

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stock — shares
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stock — goods
  5. root — the cause
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. mark — a grade
  15. root — of a word
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. clip — for paper
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — of a plant

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