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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 120 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: snap · perch · hand · saw · prune · bowl · stand · nail

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. prune — to trim
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. perch — the fish
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. saw — the tool
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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