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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stock — goods
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wound — an injury
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pop — to visit
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pop — soda
  12. clip — to cut
  13. saw — the tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — a video
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pop — music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — shares
  21. wound — an injury
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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