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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: key · cell · perch · club · root · field · stock · hide

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — farmland
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stock — shares
  7. field — a subject
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. club — for golf
  10. stock — goods
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. club — a group
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. field — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. perch — the fish

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