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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — goods
  5. current — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. dip — to sink
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. current — happening now
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — money
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. perch — the fish
  20. current — electric
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — in music
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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