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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. clip — a video
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. stock — shares
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hand — help
  11. club — a group
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cue — a signal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stock — goods
  17. clip — for paper
  18. club — for golf
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cue — for pool
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. cue — a hint

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