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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.

Words on the sheet
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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rash — a series

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