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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mate — a friend
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. clip — a video
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. face — to confront
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. mate — a partner
  13. face — to point toward
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spell — a short time
  16. face — part of the head
  17. deal — to handle
  18. stock — goods
  19. spell — letters
  20. stock — shares
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mate — to breed
  23. craft — boats
  24. spell — magic

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