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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: season · bank · rash · wind · cabinet · stock · perch · rule

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. season — in sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — government
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bank — of a river
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. rule — a law
  23. stock — goods
  24. rash — a series

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