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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spell — magic
  4. mark — a trace
  5. cell — in biology
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spell — a short time
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — a video
  18. branch — a division
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mark — a grade
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spell — letters
  24. mark — to pay attention

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