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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. file — a line of people
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. squash — the sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. bat — the animal
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. file — a tool
  19. pass — a permit
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a document

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