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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: clip · kid · trunk · lash · bound · nail · stock · season

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — of the year
  7. kid — child
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bound — tied together
  16. season — in sport
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bound — certain
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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