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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 124 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. last — finally
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stock — shares
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — final
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — for paper
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stock — goods
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mine — for digging
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. branch — a division
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. plane — a tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — to go on
  24. clip — a video

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