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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — of the year
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stock — goods
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. saw — the tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. drill — army training
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stem — to come from

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