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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stock — shares
  4. clip — a video
  5. row — a line
  6. scale — in music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. clip — for paper
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. root — of a word
  12. scale — size or range
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. can — a tin
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. swing — to play on
  19. root — the cause
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. row — to paddle
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — music

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