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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — rain
  4. current — happening now
  5. mate — to breed
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. stock — goods
  9. current — electric
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. land — ground
  13. current — of water
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. clip — for paper
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mate — a partner
  23. squash — to crush
  24. shower — to wash

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