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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 124 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. hand — in cards
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hand — help
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. ground — crushed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. game — a match
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ground — a position
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. land — a country
  24. wave — a sudden rise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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