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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 124 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. land — to come down
  9. rule — a law
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. land — ground
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. branch — a division
  21. bass — low music
  22. rule — government
  23. land — a country
  24. snap — to click

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