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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
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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: kick · pitcher · safe · ground · clip · root · chest · stock

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. root — the cause
  12. stock — goods
  13. ground — the earth
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — in football
  17. ground — a position
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — a video
  20. root — of a word
  21. clip — to cut
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. chest — a box
  24. safe — out of danger

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