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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — music
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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