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

Word bank: date · snap · bore · game · perch · cap · wound · racket

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cap — a hat
  16. date — the fruit
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bore — to drill
  19. game — a match
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — wild animals

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