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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. season — in sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mug — a cup
  9. shower — rain
  10. lean — to bend
  11. shower — to wash
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — a match
  18. stock — goods
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — wild animals
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mug — a face
  24. season — of the year

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