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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. field — a subject
  5. mate — a friend
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mate — to breed
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. perch — the fish
  11. field — farmland
  12. mate — a partner
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — for sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. spell — letters
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mouse — the animal

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