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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. suit — to fit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — from crying
  11. suit — clothes
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pit — a hole
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — in a race
  20. suit — in cards
  21. chair — a leader
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — shares
  24. mine — for digging

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