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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. snap — to click
  3. swing — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. perch — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cell — in biology
  15. swing — in golf
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tube — a container
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — the underground

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