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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: wind · plane · coach · foot · stock · snap · clip · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stock — shares
  7. foot — a measure
  8. row — a line
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. row — to paddle
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. plane — a tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. stock — goods
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — a video
  24. foot — the bottom

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