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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.

Make a worksheet

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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. net — after costs
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. court — of a king
  11. net — for catching
  12. stock — goods
  13. net — in sport
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — for sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cell — a phone
  20. court — of law
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. stock — shares
  23. scale — in music
  24. cell — in biology

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