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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. march — music
  3. present — a gift
  4. drill — the tool
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. board — a committee
  8. wind — moving air
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. present — there
  11. drill — army training
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. present — the time now
  15. board — to get on
  16. stock — goods
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stock — shares
  20. cue — for pool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — a video

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