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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. last — final
  4. cap — a hat
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — goods
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stock — shares
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. last — finally
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cap — of ice

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