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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — the animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stock — goods
  13. land — ground
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. land — to come down
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. land — a country
  23. lie — to recline
  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