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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. present — a gift
  4. track — a song
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. present — there
  8. stock — goods
  9. pitch — completely
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. track — a path
  14. wax — to grow
  15. clip — a video
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stock — shares
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. present — the time now
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. clip — for paper

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