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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 116 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: last · clip · hide · race · stock · trunk · band · season

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stock — goods
  3. band — a ring
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. clip — for paper
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. race — humankind
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — to go on
  15. band — a music group
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. race — a contest
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stock — shares
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. clip — to cut
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stock — a soup base

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