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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — to paddle
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. bass — low music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. club — a group
  9. bass — the fish
  10. clip — a video
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. club — for dancing
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. clip — to cut
  17. club — for golf
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cap — of ice

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