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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. row — to paddle
  3. stock — goods
  4. present — a gift
  5. track — a song
  6. club — a group
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. track — to keep track
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — shares
  20. present — the time now
  21. track — a path
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — there
  24. club — for golf

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