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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rest — what's left
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mark — a trace
  13. chair — a leader
  14. root — the cause
  15. kid — child
  16. root — of a word
  17. rest — a break
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mark — a grade
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. root — of a plant
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kid — to tease

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