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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. shower — rain
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pitch — completely
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. perch — the fish
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. roll — a list
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — a practice
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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