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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: clip · pit · press · ball · band · stock · lash · content

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — a hole
  4. band — a music group
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pit — in a race
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. press — to push
  12. content — happy
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. band — a ring
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — the amount
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — a video
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ball — a great time
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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