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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — a video
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. stock — shares
  5. spring — of water
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — to go on
  12. rule — a law
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. last — finally
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rule — government
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. stock — goods
  23. bulb — for light
  24. last — final

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