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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. stock — shares
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bore — to drill
  18. perch — the fish
  19. present — a gift
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bore — to tire

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