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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — help
  5. mug — a cup
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stock — goods
  11. lean — thin
  12. mug — a face
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stock — shares
  15. clip — a video
  16. lean — to bend
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bank — of a river
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pound — to hit hard

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