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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cap — of ice
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ball — a dance
  12. sharp — clever
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. saw — the tool
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. dip — to sink
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cap — a hat

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