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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. file — a line of people
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. toast — bread
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. scale — in music
  16. perch — the fish
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bore — to drill
  23. file — a document
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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