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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.

Make a worksheet

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: mine · date · land · kid · perch · arm · fan · stock

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. perch — the fish
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stock — goods
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. land — a country
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. date — the fruit
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — to come down
  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