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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 116 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stock — shares
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — goods
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — money
  22. row — a line
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a quarrel

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