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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stock — goods
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. band — a music group
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stock — shares
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. perch — the fish
  20. last — finally
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stock — a soup base

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