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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. snap — to click
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. last — to go on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fine — high quality
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bore — to drill
  12. last — final
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bore — to tire
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — army training
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. fine — all right
  22. rush — hurry
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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