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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. root — of a word
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. stock — goods
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rest — a break
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. root — the cause
  19. perch — the fish
  20. root — of a plant
  21. stock — shares
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. date — the fruit

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