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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. cap — a hat
  4. suit — in cards
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — army training
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — a practice
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cap — of ice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. suit — clothes
  24. game — a kind of play

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