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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mark — a trace
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. row — a line
  7. toast — bread
  8. file — a tool
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. stock — goods
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mug — to rob
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. row — to paddle
  20. file — a document
  21. mug — a face
  22. stock — shares
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mark — to pay attention

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