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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. march — music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bowl — a football final

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