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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: bore · perch · snap · wind · tear · jam · dip · last

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. perch — the fish
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. dip — to sink
  11. last — to go on
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. last — finally
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. last — final
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — a sauce

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