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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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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: stock · bat · straw · stand · perch · rash · rock · wake

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rash — a series
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wake — a trail
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bat — the animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stock — shares
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — goods
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rock — music
  24. rash — on the skin

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