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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. net — in sport
  2. board — a committee
  3. object — to protest
  4. file — a document
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. object — an aim
  7. perch — the fish
  8. net — after costs
  9. object — a thing
  10. stock — goods
  11. net — for catching
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. drill — the tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — army training
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. stock — shares
  21. board — to get on
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stock — a soup base

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