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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pop — music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — a video
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pop — soda
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — a city
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — for paper
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — money
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. plane — in geometry

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