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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 · wound · band · perch · file · clip · race · cap

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. stock — shares
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a ring
  10. race — a contest
  11. cap — a hat
  12. race — the arms race
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — of ice
  20. clip — to cut
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — humankind
  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