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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mate — a friend
  3. perch — the fish
  4. spell — letters
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bulb — for light
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. file — a document
  10. mate — a partner
  11. file — a tool
  12. stock — shares
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. branch — a division
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mate — to breed
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wake — before a funeral

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