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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: staff · toast · stock · field · pitcher · clip · cap · present

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cap — a lid
  4. staff — a stick
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stock — shares
  7. present — there
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stock — goods
  10. field — farmland
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. staff — employees
  13. toast — bread
  14. field — for sport
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. present — a gift
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — of ice
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. staff — employees
  24. present — the time now

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