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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.

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: tube · bass · land · root · straw · stock · mark · clip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bass — low music
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. root — of a plant
  10. tube — the underground
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. tube — a container
  15. root — of a word
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — a country
  22. root — the cause
  23. bass — the fish
  24. clip — a video

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