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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. season — in sport
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chest — a box
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stock — goods
  7. bound — obliged
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. season — of the year
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — to cut
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bound — certain
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stock — shares
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stem — to come from
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stem — a stem cell

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