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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — a video
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — shares
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. roll — a cake
  11. clip — to cut
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. mine — for digging
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — goods
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitcher — a jug

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