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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. season — in sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. perch — the fish
  9. staff — employees
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — a series
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — shares
  18. tube — a container
  19. season — of the year
  20. rash — hasty
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tube — the underground
  23. stock — goods
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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