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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. scale — in music
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. craft — boats
  9. stock — shares
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. perch — the fish
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a music group
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. craft — a skill
  23. scale — size or range
  24. row — to paddle

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