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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: stock · clip · kick · hand · can · capital · firm · bark

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. can — to be able to
  3. stock — shares
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. kick — in football
  9. firm — steady
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bark — to shout
  18. hand — help
  19. capital — money
  20. firm — decided
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stock — goods
  24. firm — a company

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