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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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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — goods
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. season — in sport
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — from a university
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rush — to hurry

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