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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. clip — a video
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — for paper

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