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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. stock — goods
  3. branch — a division
  4. land — ground
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — in music
  16. land — to come down
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stock — shares
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a document
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bear — the animal

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