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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 120 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. clip — for paper
  5. scale — size or range
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. stock — goods
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stock — shares
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. deal — to handle
  17. fall — the season
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — the tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. scale — in music

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