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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: wake · snap · perch · spell · court · sharp · bore · kid

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spell — a short time
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. court — of law
  16. spell — magic
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kid — child
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — letters

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