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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pop — soda
  3. field — farmland
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. kid — child
  11. field — for sport
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pop — music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. scale — size or range
  17. field — a subject
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stock — shares
  21. perch — the fish
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. scale — in music
  24. stem — of a plant

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