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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: scale · bark · perch · hand · plane · dip · track · snap

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. snap — to click
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bark — to shout
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. track — a path
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. plane — a tool
  24. hand — help

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