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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. snap — to click
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. net — for catching
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — a coil
  19. game — wild animals
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. perch — the fish
  23. game — a match
  24. drill — a practice

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