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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fork — in a road
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stock — shares
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. club — a group
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fork — a garden tool

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