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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. 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. scale — size or range
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. scale — in music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stock — goods
  9. land — to come down
  10. net — in sport
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stock — shares
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — a practice
  17. land — a country
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. land — ground
  24. 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