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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. snap — to click
  3. last — finally
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — the tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. rash — a series
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — a position
  10. drill — a practice
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. last — final
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. drill — army training
  21. ground — the earth
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. club — for dancing

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