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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. scale — in music
  5. game — a match
  6. rest — a break
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. scale — size or range
  10. snap — to click
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rest — what's left
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stem — to come from
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pound — to hit hard

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