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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — the sport
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. clip — a video
  10. vault — a safe
  11. swing — to play on
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. stock — goods
  16. kick — in football
  17. swing — in golf
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. squash — to crush
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. stock — shares

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