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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: perch · land · arm · root · file · face · wound · snap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — a country
  10. root — the cause
  11. land — ground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. perch — the fish
  15. face — to point toward
  16. root — of a word
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — to come down
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a document
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. perch — for a bird

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