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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — the season
  6. clip — a video
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stock — goods
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. present — there
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. chip — for betting
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. swing — in golf
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cell — in biology
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chip — in a computer

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