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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: perch · scale · ball · wind · toast · snap · foot · fall

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. foot — a measure
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. toast — bread
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — size or range
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. ball — a great time
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to click
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fall — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — the fish
  24. ball — a round shape

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