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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — to come down
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — a contest
  9. land — ground
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. stock — shares
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — after costs
  16. race — the arms race
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. race — humankind
  21. land — a country
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. clip — to cut
  24. racket — for tennis

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