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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. drill — army training
  3. root — of a word
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. file — a document
  6. last — to go on
  7. perch — the fish
  8. drill — a practice
  9. file — a tool
  10. root — of a plant
  11. last — finally
  12. drill — the tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. craft — boats
  15. last — final
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. craft — a skill
  19. stock — shares
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. root — the cause
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. stock — goods
  24. perch — for a bird

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