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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: wave · straw · stock · bear · season · perch · content · fall

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — happy
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. fall — to drop
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fall — the season
  13. perch — the fish
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. stock — goods
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — the amount
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. season — in sport
  24. stock — shares

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