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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. stock — goods
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bark — to shout
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. root — of a word
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bank — for money
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bank — for money
  17. root — the cause
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  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