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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fall — the season
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a grade
  9. field — a subject
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — for sport
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. field — farmland
  17. mark — a trace
  18. board — to get on
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — shares
  24. board — a committee

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