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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: cabinet · stock · date · mark · field · dip · straw · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. field — farmland
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stock — goods
  7. mark — a trace
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — a subject
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — for sport
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. dip — a sauce

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