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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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 — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bass — low music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. band — a music group
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stock — goods
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. band — a ring
  23. stem — to come from
  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