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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bound — certain
  5. field — farmland
  6. file — a document
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. stock — shares
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bound — obliged
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base

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