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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: rest · ruler · perch · tear · cold · plane · stock · pit

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pit — in a race
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. pit — a hole
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stock — shares
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stock — goods
  19. rest — what's left
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rest — a break
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tear — from crying

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