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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 116 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: kid · land · stock · root · calf · chair · dip · clip

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — to cut
  6. dip — to sink
  7. land — to come down
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. root — the cause
  13. land — ground
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stock — shares
  17. clip — for paper
  18. root — of a word
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stock — goods
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — a country
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. root — of a plant

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