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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pop — music
  3. stock — shares
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stock — goods
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tube — a container
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pop — soda
  24. wound — an injury

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