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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. 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. clip — a video
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. ground — a position
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stock — goods
  11. season — in sport
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — the earth
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stock — shares
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. season — of the year
  23. land — a country
  24. 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