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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. stock — shares
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bear — the animal
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bass — low music
  19. craft — a skill
  20. shower — rain
  21. craft — boats
  22. stock — goods
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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