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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 124 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — ground
  4. rash — a series
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cue — a hint
  11. land — to come down
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stock — shares
  15. season — of the year
  16. land — a country
  17. stock — goods
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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