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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. last — finally
  3. stock — goods
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. swing — to play on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spell — a short time
  9. last — final
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. swing — music
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. last — to go on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spell — letters
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — a video
  20. stock — shares
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spell — magic

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