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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ball — a dance
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. stock — shares
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ball — a great time
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. squash — the sport
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stock — goods
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — for paper
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. sharp — clever

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