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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 116 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: file · cap · rash · stock · land · bound · perch · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stock — goods
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. file — a document
  7. stock — shares
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rash — a series
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cap — a lid
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pop — to visit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pop — music
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a tool
  21. bound — certain
  22. land — a country
  23. cap — a hat
  24. land — ground

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