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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. mug — a face
  3. present — the time now
  4. stock — shares
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. field — for sport
  7. mug — to rob
  8. present — there
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. vault — a safe
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. field — a subject
  16. cell — a phone
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. field — farmland
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mug — a cup
  21. stock — goods
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. present — a gift
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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