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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 120 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: stock · bat · scale · fall · staff · wake · mate · snap

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — to breed
  4. snap — to click
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. scale — in music
  8. fall — the season
  9. staff — employees
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stock — goods
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stock — a soup base

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