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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: firm · bowl · wind · ground · charge · foot · clip · stock

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. charge — electricity
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. firm — decided
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. charge — a price
  9. firm — steady
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — a video
  14. stock — shares
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. charge — in control
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. foot — a measure
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stock — goods
  24. clip — for paper

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