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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 116 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: club · perch · coach · shower · snap · wake · cold · lean

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wake — a trail
  4. club — for golf
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — rain
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lean — to bend
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lean — thin
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. perch — the fish
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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