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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: face · land · clip · rock · nail · patient · stock · straw

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rock — music
  3. face — part of the head
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. rock — a stone
  7. land — a country
  8. face — to point toward
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. face — to confront
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. stock — goods
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. clip — to cut
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. land — ground
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. land — to come down

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