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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fall — the season
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — the fish
  8. net — after costs
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — music
  15. snap — to click
  16. saw — the tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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