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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pit — a hole
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — for golf
  19. perch — the fish
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pit — in a race
  24. club — a group

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