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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: bat · pitcher · stock · rule · perch · wave · clip · pop

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — goods
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — the animal

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