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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. firm — steady
  3. last — to go on
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bore — to tire
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. firm — decided
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cap — a lid
  14. chest — a box
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. last — final
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chest — of your body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. last — finally
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. firm — a company

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