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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. clip — to cut
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. present — a gift
  6. last — final
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ball — a great time
  9. clip — for paper
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stock — goods
  14. last — to go on
  15. bark — to shout
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rash — hasty
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. present — there
  20. last — finally
  21. present — the time now
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — shares
  24. bark — of a tree

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