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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — shares
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. clip — a video
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. dip — to sink
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wind — moving air
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. dip — a sauce

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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