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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chest — a box
  6. pitch — completely
  7. track — to keep track
  8. chest — of your body
  9. track — a song
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. stock — goods
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. clip — a video
  16. track — a path
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — to cut

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