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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bark — to shout
  12. game — a match
  13. stock — goods
  14. race — humankind
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — farmland
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cap — of ice
  23. race — a contest
  24. stock — a soup base

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