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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — tied together
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — crushed
  8. net — in sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. clip — for paper
  11. net — for catching
  12. bound — certain
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stock — goods
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash

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