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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mark — a trace
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mate — a partner
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mate — a friend
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — to breed
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stock — goods
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stock — shares
  23. band — a ring
  24. mark — a grade

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