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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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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: cap · leaves · wake · tube · snap · squash · perch · mine

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — for digging
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tube — a container
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cap — a lid
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. tube — the underground
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. snap — to click

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