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

Word bank: snap · stock · wind · saw · wake · pound · file · perch

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stock — goods
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. snap — to click
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. file — a line of people
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stock — shares
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wind — moving air
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. file — a tool

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