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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — shares
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stock — goods
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a match
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. temple — a place of worship

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