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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stock — goods
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. plane — a tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — a video
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pass — a permit
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stock — shares
  24. pass — to spend time

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