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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. can — to be able to
  3. perch — the fish
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. lean — to bend
  9. hand — in cards
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. can — a tin
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. can — a tin
  16. lean — thin
  17. last — to go on
  18. spell — magic
  19. last — finally
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — final
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — a short time

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