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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 116 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. stock — goods
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — shares
  5. clip — a video
  6. present — there
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. present — the time now
  10. rock — music
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rock — a stone
  20. present — a gift
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chip — to eat

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