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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fine — high quality
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stock — shares
  7. tear — to rip
  8. craft — a skill
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fine — all right
  13. content — the amount
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. hand — help
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. craft — boats
  22. hand — in cards
  23. content — happy
  24. clip — a video

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