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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 116 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: club · rock · perch · hand · snap · net · bear · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. club — a group
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rock — a stone
  7. net — after costs
  8. rock — music
  9. net — for catching
  10. hand — help
  11. snap — to click
  12. bear — the animal
  13. perch — the fish
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. hand — in cards
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bear — to put up with
  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