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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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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: hand · net · bound · rock · clip · stock · face · content

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. face — to confront
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bound — obliged
  6. hand — help
  7. content — the amount
  8. bound — tied together
  9. clip — a video
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — for catching
  13. stock — goods
  14. rock — a stone
  15. content — happy
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rock — music
  20. net — in sport
  21. bound — certain
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. net — after costs
  24. rock — to move gently

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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