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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — after costs
  5. rule — a law
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. net — for catching
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rule — government
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. tube — a container
  13. branch — a division
  14. stock — goods
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — in sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wind — to turn a key

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