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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: stock · content · rest · rash · spell · land · saw · clip

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — a series
  5. stock — shares
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rash — hasty
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. land — ground
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. content — happy
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rest — what's left
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. stock — goods

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