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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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468
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: row · mug · perch · snap · bat · net · bore · chip

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mug — a face
  5. bore — to tire
  6. row — a line
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bat — the animal
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chip — to eat
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. net — after costs
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mug — to rob
  16. snap — to click
  17. bore — to drill
  18. net — in sport
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. net — for catching
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. perch — the fish
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chip — in a computer

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