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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — government
  4. tube — a container
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. object — a thing
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. staff — employees
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. object — an aim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stock — shares
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — a law
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. stock — goods
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — wild animals
  22. object — to protest
  23. perch — the fish
  24. staff — a stick

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