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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · fall · perch · field · toast · stock · wave · chest

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. fall — the season
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. stock — shares
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. field — farmland
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chest — of your body
  17. toast — bread
  18. cap — a hat
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — for sport
  21. stock — goods
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. field — a subject
  24. chest — a box

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