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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — for paper
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. clip — a video
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — for sport
  14. stock — goods
  15. clip — to cut
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. toast — bread
  18. rash — a series
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. stock — shares
  23. rock — music
  24. shower — rain

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