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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. clip — a video
  6. content — happy
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. squash — to crush
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stock — shares
  15. file — a tool
  16. rock — a stone
  17. date — the fruit
  18. file — a document
  19. content — the amount
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pit — in a race
  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