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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stock — shares
  3. bass — low music
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — to cut
  7. game — a match
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. file — a line of people
  10. spell — magic
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bass — the fish
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — bread
  18. spell — letters
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stock — goods
  24. game — wild animals

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