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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. stock — shares
  8. content — happy
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — a video
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hand — help
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — for paper
  23. snap — to click
  24. hide — to keep secret

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