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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spring — of water
  8. land — a country
  9. fine — all right
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. land — ground
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fine — high quality
  16. perch — the fish
  17. scale — in music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. roll — a cake
  20. land — to come down
  21. game — a match
  22. roll — a list
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. scale — size or range

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