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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · straw · mine · bat · squash · stock · racket · shower

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stock — shares
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stock — goods
  14. perch — the fish
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mine — for digging
  24. squash — the sport

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