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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · wind · perch · wound · rash · snap · pitcher · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. game — a match
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — the fish
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — a series
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bore — to tire
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bore — to drill
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — hasty
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wound — an injury
  24. perch — for a bird

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