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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — the season
  5. court — of a king
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chair — a leader
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bulb — for light
  17. court — for sport
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — shares
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — not warm

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