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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rash — a series
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. prune — to trim
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lean — thin
  11. clip — a video
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stock — shares
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rash — hasty
  19. march — the month
  20. prune — to trim
  21. key — in music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. key — the most important part

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