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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tube — a container
  4. stock — goods
  5. perch — the fish
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. swing — music
  9. snap — to click
  10. mate — a friend
  11. tube — the underground
  12. mate — a partner
  13. drill — army training
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. mate — to breed
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — a practice
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pop — soda
  21. stock — shares
  22. drill — the tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. pop — music

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