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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. clip — a video
  4. stock — goods
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. stock — shares
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — in a road
  14. swing — in golf
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — for paper
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fall — the season

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