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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stock — goods
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rash — a series
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pass — a permit
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. clip — to cut
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. face — to confront
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. face — part of the head
  18. sharp — clever
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — a video
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stock — shares

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