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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. stock — shares
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. dip — to sink
  8. clip — a video
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. season — of the year
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. band — a ring
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — for paper
  23. season — in sport
  24. pit — in a race

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