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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: wind · stock · ground · leaves · rush · wave · clip · kid

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — to tease
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. stock — goods
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ground — a position

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