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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. snap — to click
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. roll — a list
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tear — to rip
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. date — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. perch — the fish
  17. court — of a king
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. court — of law

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