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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: plane · object · stock · pitcher · cold · clip · swing · staff

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. clip — for paper
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. clip — to cut
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — a video
  11. staff — a stick
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. swing — in golf
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. plane — a tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. object — an aim
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — goods
  24. staff — employees

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