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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — army training
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. ground — a position
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — a practice
  17. ground — crushed
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fine — all right
  23. kid — child
  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