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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 124 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pass — a permit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. stock — shares
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. perch — the fish
  12. content — happy
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. can — a tin
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fan — to cool the air

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