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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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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 · cue · hand · pitcher · stock · perch · bound · field

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bound — certain
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — farmland
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — goods
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cue — for pool
  18. field — a subject
  19. snap — to click
  20. cue — a signal
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — shares
  24. field — for sport

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