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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. spell — letters
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. current — of water
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stock — goods
  17. spell — magic
  18. bark — to shout

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