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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.

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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: wake · spring · stock · perch · pop · pitch · ball · fall

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — of water
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. pop — to visit
  12. perch — the fish
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. ball — a great time
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wake — a trail
  23. stock — goods
  24. fall — the season

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