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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. land — a country
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — to come down
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. perch — the fish
  18. snap — to click
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. land — ground
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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