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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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 — a soup base
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bound — certain
  4. track — a song
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. file — a tool
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. stock — goods
  11. track — a path
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a document
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bound — tied together
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stock — shares
  19. bound — obliged
  20. field — a subject
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — farmland
  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