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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. pop — to visit
  14. clip — a video
  15. chest — a box
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stock — shares
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. clip — for paper
  24. nail — for a hammer

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