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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stock — shares
  14. fall — the season
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — an illness

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