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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — in music
  7. face — to confront
  8. stock — shares
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stock — goods
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. deal — to handle
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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