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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. march — the month
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mark — a grade
  11. root — the cause
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — of a word
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mark — a trace
  21. root — of a plant
  22. perch — the fish
  23. march — music
  24. kid — child

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