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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mug — a face
  3. suit — to fit
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. swing — music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. suit — clothes
  11. mug — to rob
  12. drill — the tool
  13. suit — in cards
  14. mug — a cup
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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