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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 120 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
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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: root · hide · spell · kid · kick · trunk · stock · clip

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. stock — goods
  4. clip — to cut
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spell — letters
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. root — of a plant
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. clip — for paper
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spell — magic
  14. root — of a word
  15. kick — in football
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. kid — child
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. root — the cause
  21. stock — shares
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. clip — a video

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