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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lie — to recline
  4. clip — a video
  5. stock — goods
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. band — a ring
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stock — shares
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wake — a trail
  19. capital — a city
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. capital — money

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