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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: charge · pop · wind · bat · stock · saw · perch · track

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. wind — moving air
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — electricity
  12. track — a path
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pop — soda
  15. charge — in control
  16. stock — goods
  17. track — to keep track
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pop — music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bat — the animal
  24. charge — a price

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