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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bass — the fish
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stock — goods
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. current — electric
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — shares
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — the tool
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mark — a trace
  20. drill — army training
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bass — low music
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. clip — for paper

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