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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. chest — a box
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — of ice
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — to come down
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — ground
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. perch — the fish
  15. staff — employees
  16. stock — shares
  17. land — a country
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. firm — steady
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. staff — a stick
  24. firm — a company

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