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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. rule — government
  5. roll — a cake
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — shares
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bass — low music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fine — all right
  13. clip — a video
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fork — in a road
  17. roll — a list
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — goods
  22. rule — a law
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. roll — on a roll

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