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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. charge — electricity
  9. prune — to trim
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. perch — the fish
  18. charge — in control
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — a price
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. sharp — clever
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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