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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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. pitch — completely
  4. band — a ring
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. band — a music group
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. snap — to click
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. roll — a list
  24. wound — an injury

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