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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 116 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. track — a path
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cap — a lid
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kid — to tease
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — shares
  15. press — to push
  16. stock — goods
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. perch — the fish
  21. kid — child
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — a song

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