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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bound — tied together
  4. march — music
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tube — a container
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. march — the month
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tube — the underground
  16. kick — in football
  17. march — the month
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. snap — to click
  20. bound — certain
  21. perch — the fish
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. straw — dry grass

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