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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. row — a line
  5. track — a path
  6. pitch — completely
  7. perch — the fish
  8. staff — employees
  9. stock — goods
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. staff — a stick
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. track — a song
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — to keep track
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stock — shares
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stem — to come from
  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