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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — to come down
  3. snap — to click
  4. fall — the season
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. land — a country
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. land — ground
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fall — to drop
  21. last — finally
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. perch — the fish

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