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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: stock · clip · wake · perch · net · field · rush · pitcher

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. field — for sport
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stock — shares
  17. net — after costs
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — farmland
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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