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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spring — of water
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. squash — to crush
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. shower — to wash
  15. spring — a coil
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stock — shares
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — goods

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