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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stock — goods
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. ground — the earth
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — a position
  9. stock — shares
  10. race — a contest
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. press — a publisher
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. press — newspapers
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. press — to push
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ground — crushed
  22. content — the amount
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — happy

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