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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. wake — a trail
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mark — a trace
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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