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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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468
Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — shares
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — goods
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spell — magic
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spell — a short time
  20. clip — to cut
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. lie — an untruth

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