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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. last — finally
  9. firm — decided
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — to go on
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. firm — steady
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — final
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — in an idiom

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