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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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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: wave · mark · stock · clip · kid · toast · root · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. kid — to tease
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. clip — for paper
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. snap — to click
  10. mark — a grade
  11. toast — bread
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kid — child
  15. root — the cause
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. mark — a trace
  18. clip — a video
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. root — of a word
  21. stock — shares
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stock — goods

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