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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. march — the month
  4. land — a country
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. land — to come down
  7. dip — to sink
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. row — a line
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — to cut
  12. march — the month
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. clip — a video
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — to paddle
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stock — shares
  20. land — ground
  21. stock — goods
  22. season — in sport
  23. march — music
  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