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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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 click
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — the arms race
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. race — a contest
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chest — a box
  22. race — humankind
  23. chest — of your body
  24. perch — the fish

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