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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rule — government
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rule — a law
  6. stock — shares
  7. mug — to rob
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mug — a face
  10. bound — obliged
  11. shower — rain
  12. band — a music group
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bound — certain
  22. band — a ring
  23. bound — tied together
  24. perch — the fish

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