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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 116 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: trunk · suit · kick · clip · file · shower · ball · stock

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — in football
  3. file — a tool
  4. ball — a dance
  5. file — a document
  6. stock — goods
  7. shower — to wash
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ball — a great time
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. file — a line of people
  13. suit — clothes
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. stock — shares

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