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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. march — music
  3. file — a document
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. rock — music
  11. charge — in control
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. clip — for paper
  16. charge — electricity
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stock — shares
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rock — a stone
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a line of people
  24. stock — goods

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