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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: nail · staff · stock · bark · pitcher · clip · pop · wind

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stock — shares
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stock — goods
  12. clip — a video
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pop — music
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pop — soda
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. staff — employees

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