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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 120 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: wind · staff · stock · tube · clip · prune · wave · object

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. tube — a container
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. staff — employees
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — for paper
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. object — a thing
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. tube — the underground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — a video
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. object — to protest
  24. prune — the fruit

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