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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: leaves · hand · mate · stock · season · cold · firm · perch

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stock — goods
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — a company
  12. season — in sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. firm — decided
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — steady
  18. mate — a partner
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. season — of the year

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