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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stock — goods
  5. scale — in music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bound — obliged
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stock — shares
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bound — certain
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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