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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. ball — a dance
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — to cut
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. clip — a video
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stock — shares
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wound — an injury
  12. staff — employees
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. staff — employees
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — for paper
  18. shower — rain
  19. ball — a great time
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. staff — a stick
  24. perch — the fish

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