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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — the fish
  5. dip — to sink
  6. present — a gift
  7. snap — to click
  8. file — a line of people
  9. club — a group
  10. file — a tool
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. club — for golf
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. present — the time now
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. club — for dancing
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. file — a document
  21. present — there
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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