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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — shares
  6. rash — hasty
  7. last — to go on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. firm — steady
  12. last — finally
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. firm — a company
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. last — final
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rash — a series
  23. firm — decided
  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