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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bat — the animal
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. march — the month
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. straw — a straw man

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