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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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 match
  3. chest — of your body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. net — for catching
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chest — a box
  8. rock — a stone
  9. net — after costs
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fine — all right
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. rock — music
  22. net — in sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. perch — for a bird

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