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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 124 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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stock — goods
  4. perch — the fish
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. deal — to handle
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stock — shares
  19. bat — the animal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — to trim
  24. date — on the calendar

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