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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stock — goods
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bass — low music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pass — a permit
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stock — shares
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rest — a break
  23. shower — rain
  24. bass — the fish

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