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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. saw — the tool
  3. track — a song
  4. rock — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rock — a stone
  18. track — a path
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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