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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. snap — to click
  4. rock — music
  5. present — there
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. present — a gift
  19. chair — a leader
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. present — the time now

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