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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fine — all right
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cue — for pool
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — a video
  15. key — in music
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. key — for a lock
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stock — goods
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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