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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. march — music
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — the month
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fall — the season
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. perch — the fish
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to click

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