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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.

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: stock · leaves · perch · bay · bat · field · date · clip

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. field — farmland
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. clip — to cut
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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