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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. clip — to cut
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pound — a weight
  13. hand — help
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. stock — goods
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spell — letters
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spell — magic

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