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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cue — a hint
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — a video
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fall — to drop
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. stock — shares
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. stock — goods
  16. fall — the season
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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