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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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. clip — a video
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stock — goods
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — to cut
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — shares
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. object — an aim
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. march — music
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. object — to protest
  24. clip — for paper

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