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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mark — a trace
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. perch — the fish
  10. game — a match
  11. stock — goods
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. drill — army training
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stock — shares
  24. perch — for a bird

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