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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. present — there
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. stock — goods
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mark — a grade
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. present — the time now
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. clip — a video
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. present — a gift

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