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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 · perch · game · pitch · track · stock · spring · tear

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. tear — to rip
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. game — a match
  5. track — to keep track
  6. spring — of water
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. stock — goods
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitch — completely
  16. perch — the fish
  17. track — a song
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. stock — shares
  20. spring — the season
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitch — a sports field

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