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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — finally
  4. court — of a king
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. file — a document
  9. roll — a cake
  10. drill — a practice
  11. snap — to click
  12. last — to go on
  13. drill — army training
  14. court — for sport
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. roll — a list
  19. drill — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a tool
  22. last — final
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — of law

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