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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.

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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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. snap — to click
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chest — a box
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tear — from crying
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — a lid
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bulb — for light
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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