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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as 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. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cold — not warm
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. perch — the fish
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wound — an injury
  23. perch — for a bird
  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