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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — a trace
  5. rash — a series
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. perch — the fish
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. lean — thin
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a document
  24. lean — to bend

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