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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. march — the month
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. scale — in music
  11. clip — a video
  12. wound — an injury
  13. march — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. perch — the fish
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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