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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. clip — for paper
  5. band — a music group
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. stock — shares
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — music
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. march — the month
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stock — goods

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