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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 120 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. leaves — of a tree
  2. stock — shares
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. snap — to click
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chip — to eat
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. spring — of water
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chip — for betting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — a video
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stock — goods
  20. spring — the season
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stock — a soup base
  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