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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a line of people
  9. swing — music
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fork — in a road
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — a country
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a tool
  17. swing — in golf
  18. file — a document
  19. cap — a hat
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cap — a lid
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. land — ground

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