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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rush — hurry
  6. snap — to click
  7. stock — goods
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cap — of ice
  13. spring — the season
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spring — a coil
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — of water
  24. roll — a list

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