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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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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: stock · degree · track · race · saw · safe · perch · tear

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. race — humankind
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stock — goods
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. track — a path
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. degree — an amount
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — from a university
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tear — to rip
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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