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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wake — a trail
  4. stock — shares
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. mug — to rob
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. stock — goods
  14. mug — a face
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mug — a cup
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cap — a lid
  24. clip — a video

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