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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a city
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ground — the earth
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ground — a position
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stock — goods
  24. rule — government

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