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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 · nail · swing · capital · firm · net · clip · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. firm — steady
  3. clip — to cut
  4. net — after costs
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. capital — a city
  10. net — in sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — for catching
  15. stock — goods
  16. swing — music
  17. firm — decided
  18. stock — shares
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. clip — a video
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. firm — a company
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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