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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.

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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: plane · kick · stand · present · perch · stock · wind · club

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. club — for golf
  4. present — the time now
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — goods
  8. club — for dancing
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stand — to bear
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. plane — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. stock — shares
  18. club — a group
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. perch — the fish

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