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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. net — in sport
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — goods
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. track — a path
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wind — to turn a key

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