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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stock — goods
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bass — low music
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — rain
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — a video

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