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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. scale — in music
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. firm — decided
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spell — magic
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spell — letters
  9. court — of a king
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — of law
  14. stock — goods
  15. spell — a short time
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — for paper
  18. firm — a company
  19. season — of the year
  20. firm — steady
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stock — shares
  23. track — to keep track
  24. court — for sport

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