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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 120 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: safe · stock · perch · court · band · deal · row · last

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. band — a music group
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. last — finally
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. last — to go on
  13. stock — goods
  14. band — a ring
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. stock — shares
  18. last — final
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — to handle
  22. court — of law
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. court — of a king

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