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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. 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. stock — shares
  3. rest — a break
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pit — a hole
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stock — goods
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mark — a grade
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mark — a trace
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pit — in a race
  23. clip — a video
  24. 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