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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. stock — goods
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. last — to go on
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. fall — to drop
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — final
  17. fall — the season
  18. stock — shares
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wake — a trail
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — finally

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