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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. row — a line
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. craft — boats
  10. row — to paddle
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bound — certain
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. kick — in football
  18. bound — obliged
  19. perch — the fish
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to click
  23. craft — a skill
  24. row — a quarrel

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