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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — final
  5. stock — goods
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — a series
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — shares
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rash — on the skin

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