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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to click
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stem — to come from
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rest — what's left
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. rest — a break
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. deal — to handle
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rest — what's left

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