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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. last — finally
  3. scale — size or range
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chip — for betting
  8. clip — a video
  9. last — final
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bat — the animal
  12. scale — in music
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — goods
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stock — shares
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mate — to breed
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. mate — a friend

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