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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: stock · bank · shower · bat · clip · ground · spring · nail

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stock — goods
  8. spring — of water
  9. stock — shares
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bank — for money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ground — a position
  15. spring — the season
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. bank — for money
  19. shower — to wash
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — crushed

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