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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 120 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. band — a ring
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. stock — goods
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stock — shares
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cold — not warm
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. band — a music group
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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