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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — for paper
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stock — shares
  14. pass — a permit
  15. stock — goods
  16. ground — a position
  17. clip — a video
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mark — a grade
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stock — a soup base

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