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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pound — a weight
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bass — low music
  15. snap — to click
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wake — a trail

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