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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rule — government
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. scale — size or range
  8. suit — clothes
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ball — a great time
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. scale — in music
  13. suit — in cards
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ball — a dance
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wake — a trail
  18. suit — to fit
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — a law
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. stock — goods
  24. scale — for weighing

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