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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · scale · chest · sharp · pitcher · row · stand · mouse

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. scale — in music
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. scale — size or range
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. row — to paddle
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. row — a line
  20. stand — to bear
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. chest — a box

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