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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pound — a weight
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. perch — the fish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stock — goods
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. degree — from a university
  19. dip — to sink
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — for dogs

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