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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. snap — to click
  12. spell — letters
  13. swing — music
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bat — for baseball

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