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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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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. march — music
  5. can — to be able to
  6. file — a tool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — to play on
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. can — a tin
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. saw — the tool
  24. racket — for tennis

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