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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. scale — in music
  3. staff — employees
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — final
  12. perch — the fish
  13. staff — employees
  14. scale — size or range
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wound — an injury
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. snap — to click
  24. jam — in traffic

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