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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. land — ground
  3. chest — of your body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — to come down
  7. roll — a list
  8. rock — a stone
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. scale — size or range
  11. perch — the fish
  12. land — a country
  13. chest — a box
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rock — music
  18. snap — to click
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. chest — of your body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. race — a contest
  24. scale — for weighing

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