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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pit — in a race
  4. kid — child
  5. stock — shares
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. key — in music
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rash — a series
  13. pit — a hole
  14. key — the most important part
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — a company
  17. fall — to drop
  18. key — for a lock
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — goods
  21. fall — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. firm — decided
  24. clip — a video

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