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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lean — to bend
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. spell — letters
  6. stock — shares
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. swing — in golf
  9. lean — thin
  10. press — a publisher
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. perch — the fish
  13. spell — a short time
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. stock — goods
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. press — to push
  19. spell — magic
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mine — for digging
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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