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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. land — a country
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stock — goods
  7. pitch — completely
  8. fall — the season
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. land — to come down
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — to drop
  18. land — ground
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stock — shares
  24. fall — to drop

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