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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — the earth
  3. clip — a video
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. key — in music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. net — after costs
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stock — goods
  16. tube — a container
  17. net — for catching
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stock — shares
  22. tube — the underground
  23. net — in sport
  24. key — for a lock

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