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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — a video
  3. fork — in a road
  4. court — of law
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. can — to be able to
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — final
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. last — to go on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — shares
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. court — for sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wound — an injury
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — a break

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