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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. rash — a series
  2. stock — shares
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — hasty
  7. file — a document
  8. root — of a word
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pound — a weight
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stock — goods
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. perch — the fish
  22. fork — in a road
  23. root — the cause
  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