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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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468
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: perch · stock · ball · craft · straw · object · kick · pitch

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. craft — a skill
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. ball — a dance
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. perch — the fish
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stock — shares
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stock — goods
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. craft — boats
  24. kick — in football

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