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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. tube — the underground
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. clip — a video
  7. bat — the animal
  8. roll — a list
  9. tube — a container
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. net — after costs
  13. roll — a cake
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stock — goods
  16. staff — a stick
  17. key — in music
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — the most important part
  21. staff — employees
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stock — shares
  24. staff — employees

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