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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bat — the animal
  9. roll — a cake
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stand — to bear
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stand — for spectators

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