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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: perch · last · cold · wound · stock · deal · present · root

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. root — of a word
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. present — there
  8. perch — the fish
  9. last — to go on
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. root — the cause
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — a gift
  19. deal — to handle
  20. root — of a plant
  21. present — the time now
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. perch — for a bird

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