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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. spell — letters
  9. rash — a series
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — goods
  12. object — a thing
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. object — an aim
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spell — magic
  23. object — to protest
  24. perch — the fish

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