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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. stock — shares
  4. scale — size or range
  5. perch — the fish
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stock — goods
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. lean — thin
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cell — in biology
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lean — to bend
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — a trail
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. scale — in music
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. date — on the calendar

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