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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stem — to come from
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — to come down
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — ground
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. row — a line
  16. ball — a dance
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ball — a great time
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stock — goods
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — a country
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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