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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 120 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: kid · pound · plane · clip · ball · hide · branch · stock

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — child
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stock — goods
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. branch — a division
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. clip — a video
  18. plane — a tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stock — shares

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