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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. track — a song
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. current — of water
  7. track — to keep track
  8. perch — the fish
  9. kid — to tease
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spring — of water
  12. kid — child
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. dip — to sink
  15. current — happening now
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. current — electric
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. perch — for a bird

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