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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rash — hasty
  9. stock — goods
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rash — a series
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — of water
  17. prune — to trim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — a video
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. stock — shares

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