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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. roll — a list
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stock — goods
  7. clip — to cut
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mate — to breed
  10. clip — a video
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. stock — shares
  19. rest — what's left
  20. perch — the fish
  21. roll — a cake
  22. rest — a break
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. roll — on a roll

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