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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. present — there
  2. pitch — completely
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — help
  6. present — a gift
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stock — shares
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — a video
  14. lie — to recline
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. hand — in cards
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. present — the time now
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stock — goods
  23. lie — an untruth
  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