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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. file — a line of people
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stock — goods
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — a break
  9. march — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a document
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a tool
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — a face
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mug — to rob
  24. perch — for a bird

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