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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.

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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: race · staff · net · stock · bore · clip · trunk · object

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. race — humankind
  2. object — to protest
  3. bore — to drill
  4. clip — for paper
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. net — after costs
  7. staff — employees
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — a contest
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. clip — to cut
  19. net — for catching
  20. object — an aim
  21. staff — a stick
  22. object — a thing
  23. clip — a video
  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