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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — ground
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. sharp — clever
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stock — shares
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. perch — the fish
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — to come down
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — a country
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stock — goods

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