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

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — farmland
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. rash — a series
  9. rock — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to click
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ball — a dance
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — a stone
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. field — a subject
  24. rash — on the skin

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