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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. spring — of water
  3. net — in sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. row — a line
  15. club — for golf
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — ground
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stock — shares
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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