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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stock — goods
  5. ground — crushed
  6. clip — a video
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. last — final
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. last — to go on
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. ground — a position
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ground — the earth
  17. spring — the season
  18. last — finally
  19. spring — of water
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stock — shares
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stock — a soup base

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