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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. file — a tool
  3. club — for dancing
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a ring
  8. file — a line of people
  9. branch — a division
  10. band — a music group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — a group
  14. last — to go on
  15. perch — the fish
  16. stock — goods
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. file — a document
  19. last — final
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. club — for golf
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. tear — to rip

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