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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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. scale — size or range
  4. clip — a video
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — goods
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. scale — in music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. scale — for weighing

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