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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: cell · plane · bay · perch · kick · race · stock · clip

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. clip — to cut
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — a phone
  11. race — a contest
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. race — humankind
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. clip — for paper
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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