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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — goods
  8. fine — all right
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. scale — size or range
  19. stock — shares
  20. clip — a video
  21. fine — high quality
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. clip — to cut
  24. scale — in music

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