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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cue — a signal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stock — goods
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cue — for pool
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — for paper
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — a video
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. season — of the year
  21. stock — shares
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. season — in sport

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