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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stock — goods
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. land — to come down
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. race — a contest
  21. stock — shares
  22. race — humankind
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. coach — a trainer

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