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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a ring
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. clip — for paper
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — electric
  12. stock — shares
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a music group
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. clip — a video

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