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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chest — of your body
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chest — a box
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. snap — to click
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ground — the earth
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ground — crushed
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ground — a position

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