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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stock — shares
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — in cards
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bore — to drill
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bore — to tire
  16. clip — a video
  17. hand — help
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. content — happy
  24. stock — goods

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