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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. branch — a division
  5. content — happy
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stock — goods
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. branch — of a bank

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