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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 · perch · swing · deal · spell · snap · root · racket

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spell — letters
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. snap — to click
  9. date — the fruit
  10. swing — music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — magic
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — the fish
  21. swing — in golf
  22. root — the cause
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. swing — to play on

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