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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. last — final
  4. clip — a video
  5. object — to protest
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — finally
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. object — an aim
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stock — shares
  18. fork — in a road
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. object — a thing
  22. last — to go on
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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