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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: club · stock · root · bay · prune · perch · patient · capital

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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 — for a bird
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. stock — shares
  4. perch — the fish
  5. capital — money
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. capital — a city
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. root — the cause
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. root — of a word
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. club — for golf
  22. root — of a plant
  23. club — a group
  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