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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.

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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rest — what's left
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rest — a break

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