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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — a position
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. can — a tin
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stock — shares
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. clip — to cut
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. clip — a video
  14. stock — goods
  15. ground — the earth
  16. net — for catching
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. net — after costs
  19. clip — for paper
  20. net — in sport
  21. land — ground
  22. can — to be able to
  23. squash — the sport
  24. can — a tin

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