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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: stock · bore · tube · clip · scale · game · present · saw

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. scale — in music
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. stock — goods
  7. scale — size or range
  8. clip — a video
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stock — shares
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. clip — for paper
  19. game — a match
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. present — the time now

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