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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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468
Word bank
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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. object — an aim
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. face — to confront
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. face — part of the head
  9. swing — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. kid — child
  13. object — to protest
  14. snap — to click
  15. face — to point toward
  16. object — a thing
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mate — a friend
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mate — a partner
  23. swing — in golf
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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