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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lean — thin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stock — shares
  15. fork — in a road
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. root — of a word
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. root — of a plant
  22. lean — to bend
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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