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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fine — high quality
  5. clip — for paper
  6. drill — a practice
  7. last — to go on
  8. rash — a series
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — army training
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. last — finally
  14. fine — all right
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. clip — a video
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — final
  21. stock — goods
  22. club — a group
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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