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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. snap — to click
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cue — for pool
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chair — a professorship

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