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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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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: hide · snap · drill · cue · craft · date · field · perch

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. cue — a hint
  4. field — for sport
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cue — a signal
  8. date — the fruit
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cue — for pool
  11. craft — boats
  12. field — a subject
  13. craft — a skill
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. drill — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. perch — the fish
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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