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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — a country
  7. plane — a tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stock — shares
  13. snap — to click
  14. hand — help
  15. pound — a weight
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. clip — a video
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. clip — to cut

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