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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. stock — goods
  4. staff — employees
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. track — to keep track
  10. perch — the fish
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. track — a song
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stock — shares
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. staff — employees
  24. cabinet — ministers

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