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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: cell · wound · bear · stock · pop · tube · hand · perch

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — shares
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pop — music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pop — soda
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stock — goods
  16. perch — the fish
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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