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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — shares
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — for light
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bass — low music
  13. stock — goods
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. craft — boats
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. rule — a law
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rule — government

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