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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: row · mark · land · perch · mine · chest · board · stock

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chest — a box
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. row — a line
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. stock — shares
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. land — a country
  19. board — to get on
  20. mine — for digging
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. board — a committee
  24. row — to paddle

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