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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spell — magic
  7. capital — a city
  8. press — newspapers
  9. stock — shares
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — a short time
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spell — letters
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. press — to push
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. capital — money
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. press — a publisher

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