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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 120 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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — shares
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bass — low music
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bass — the fish
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. last — finally
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. stock — goods
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. clip — for paper
  24. last — to go on

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