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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — shares
  5. saw — the tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — goods
  17. squash — to crush
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — a group
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. squash — the vegetable

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