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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — goods
  8. clip — to cut
  9. march — music
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. stock — shares
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. mark — a trace

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