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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bulb — for light
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fine — all right
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bulb — for light
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. perch — the fish
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. last — to go on
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. last — final
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fine — high quality

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