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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pit — in a race
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. march — music
  13. stock — shares
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. mine — for digging
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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