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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stock — goods
  3. stand — to bear
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. fork — in a road
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. scale — size or range
  11. drill — army training
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — shares
  17. drill — a practice
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — a box
  23. perch — the fish
  24. stand — on your feet

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