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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — goods
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fine — all right
  6. bound — certain
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bound — obliged
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bound — tied together
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. fine — high quality
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — temperature
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. fine — a penalty

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