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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. object — to protest
  4. clip — a video
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — a stick
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stock — shares
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — an aim
  14. clip — to cut
  15. object — a thing
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — goods
  19. staff — employees
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. deal — to handle
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. deal — a big deal

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