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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stock — shares
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — for pool
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — thin
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bat — the animal

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