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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — shares
  4. net — for catching
  5. stock — goods
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. net — after costs
  13. mark — a trace
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. net — in sport
  21. chest — a box
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wax — to grow

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