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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. clip — a video
  12. stock — shares
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pit — in a race

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