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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stock — shares
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — a stick
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. degree — temperature
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — goods
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. degree — an amount
  23. key — for a lock
  24. staff — employees

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