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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — the fish
  5. ball — a great time
  6. tube — a container
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stem — to come from
  10. scale — in music
  11. march — the month
  12. scale — size or range
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. branch — a division
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — the underground

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