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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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Word bank
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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: safe · perch · bat · spring · cold · row · stock · pit

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pit — in a race
  6. stock — shares
  7. row — a line
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stock — goods
  10. pit — a hole
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — the animal
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — of water
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. perch — for a bird

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