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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: cabinet · tear · roll · snap · kick · fall · bulb · perch

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. roll — a cake
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. perch — the fish
  7. roll — a list
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bulb — for light
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. snap — to click
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. tear — from crying

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