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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. file — a tool
  5. deal — to handle
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pop — to visit
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — to cut
  10. sharp — clever
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. stock — goods
  13. pop — soda
  14. race — humankind
  15. stock — shares
  16. file — a line of people
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. clip — for paper
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pit — in a race
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. clip — a video
  24. pop — music

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