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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: hide · mate · net · cue · pitcher · clip · kick · stock

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — a video
  5. mate — to breed
  6. net — after costs
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. net — for catching
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. mate — a partner
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cue — for pool
  17. kick — in football
  18. stock — shares
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stock — goods
  23. net — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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