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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: hide · pitcher · present · snap · stock · land · bowl · clip

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. land — ground
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. present — a gift
  8. land — to come down
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. snap — to click
  15. present — there
  16. land — a country
  17. stock — goods
  18. clip — a video
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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