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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stock — shares
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bound — certain
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bound — tied together
  14. saw — the tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — to come down
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stock — goods
  21. charge — in control
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — a country
  24. bound — obliged

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