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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. stock — shares
  4. clip — a video
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. scale — in music
  8. season — of the year
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. stock — goods
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. prune — to trim
  15. plane — a tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. scale — size or range
  20. season — in sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wake — a trail
  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