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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — the tool
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. march — the month
  11. stock — goods
  12. degree — from a university
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. march — the month
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. saw — the tool
  20. scale — in music
  21. stand — to bear
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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