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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. face — part of the head
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. last — final
  7. fall — to drop
  8. face — to point toward
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fall — to drop
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fall — the season
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. face — to confront
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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