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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. clip — a video
  5. suit — to fit
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stock — goods
  11. suit — in cards
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wind — moving air
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stock — shares
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cell — a phone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wind — moving air
  24. suit — clothes

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