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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. staff — employees
  3. swing — to play on
  4. band — a ring
  5. scale — size or range
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — the fish
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. staff — a stick
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. scale — in music
  19. staff — employees
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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