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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — in music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — a video
  21. court — for sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — the fish
  24. court — of a king

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