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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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. bat — in an idiom
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — shares
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rule — government
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a document
  17. stock — goods
  18. cap — of ice
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. file — a tool
  24. perch — the fish

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