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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. craft — a skill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kick — in football
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. swing — in golf
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — clever
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chest — a box
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. craft — boats
  23. perch — the fish
  24. swing — music

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