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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. stock — goods
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. rush — hurry
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. spring — the season
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — of water
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rule — government
  17. clip — a video
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bowl — a football final

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