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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. stock — goods
  2. scale — in music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lean — to bend
  10. perch — the fish
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lean — thin
  13. scale — size or range
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bass — low music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to click
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — a coil
  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