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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — to visit
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cue — for pool
  9. snap — to click
  10. scale — in music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cue — a hint
  22. pop — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tear — to rip

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