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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cap — a lid
  9. shower — to wash
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. snap — to click
  12. cap — of ice
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cap — a hat
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — in a prison

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