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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. prune — to trim
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — goods
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mug — a face
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. clip — a video
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — in a road
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fork — a garden tool

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