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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to click
  7. mate — to breed
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mate — a partner
  11. stock — goods
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stock — shares
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mate — a friend
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. clip — for paper

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