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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. stock — shares
  3. ground — a position
  4. swing — in golf
  5. clip — for paper
  6. swing — music
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. clip — a video
  12. stock — goods
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ground — the earth
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. fine — high quality
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wake — a trail
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — crushed

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