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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — a video
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — a group
  17. bound — certain
  18. mark — a grade
  19. stock — shares
  20. net — after costs
  21. stock — goods
  22. clip — for paper
  23. net — for catching
  24. stock — a soup base

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