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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. press — to push
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — an amount
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. track — a path
  12. degree — from a university
  13. track — to keep track
  14. degree — temperature
  15. perch — the fish
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. track — a song
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. file — a tool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. file — a line of people
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. file — a document
  24. perch — for a bird

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