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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rule — government
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — a law
  8. pop — music
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pop — to visit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pop — soda
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — a coil
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. branch — a division
  24. spring — the season

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