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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mate — to breed
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — the month
  12. mate — a partner
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — a video
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. stock — goods
  18. march — music
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. march — the month
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mate — a friend
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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