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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pop — soda
  5. season — in sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pop — music
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. present — there
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. file — a line of people
  17. clip — a video
  18. pop — to visit
  19. clip — to cut
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — for paper
  22. present — the time now
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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