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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stock — goods
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bound — certain
  13. stock — shares
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — of the year
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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