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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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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: saw · snap · present · hide · pound · stock · cell · clip

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. snap — to click
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — a gift
  7. cell — in biology
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. present — the time now
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pound — a weight
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — there
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — shares
  23. cell — a phone
  24. hide — animal skin

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