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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — for sport
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. stock — goods
  11. squash — to crush
  12. deal — to handle
  13. present — there
  14. clip — to cut
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — a gift
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — the time now
  20. wake — a trail
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wake — before a funeral

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