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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. stock — shares
  3. ground — a position
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. ground — crushed
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rash — hasty
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. scale — size or range
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. stock — goods
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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