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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — the month
  4. staff — employees
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. root — of a plant
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stock — shares
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. staff — a stick
  16. perch — the fish
  17. root — the cause
  18. file — a document
  19. deal — to handle
  20. stock — goods
  21. root — of a word
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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