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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.

Make a worksheet

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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468
Word bank
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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bound — certain
  7. march — music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chest — of your body
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. snap — to click
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — low music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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