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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cue — a hint
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cue — for pool
  13. race — humankind
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cue — a signal
  18. stock — shares
  19. face — to confront
  20. race — a contest
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bark — to shout

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