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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · stock · sharp · bay · cold · can · clip · ruler

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. can — a tin
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. can — a tin
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stock — goods
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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