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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stock — shares
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — for paper
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spring — the season
  13. date — the fruit
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — in cards
  16. squash — to crush
  17. suit — to fit
  18. stock — goods
  19. spring — of water
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. clip — a video
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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