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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: bat · deal · wound · clip · row · file · stock · board

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. deal — to handle
  5. stock — shares
  6. row — a line
  7. clip — for paper
  8. board — to get on
  9. stock — goods
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — to cut
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. file — a tool
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. row — to paddle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. board — a committee
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a document
  24. wound — an injury

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