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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. perch — the fish
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. suit — in cards
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. race — humankind
  11. suit — clothes
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. land — ground
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. file — a line of people
  16. land — a country
  17. race — a contest
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. suit — to fit
  21. stock — shares
  22. race — the arms race
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stock — goods

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