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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · stock · clip · key · cold · kick · squash · board

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — for paper
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. key — the most important part
  9. stock — goods
  10. key — in music
  11. board — a committee
  12. squash — the sport
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — not warm
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. stock — shares
  19. cold — an illness
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. plane — a tool
  24. board — to get on

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