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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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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: rest · perch · saw · rush · spring · pound · snap · last

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spring — of water
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — final
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rush — hurry
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — the season
  22. rest — a break
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rush — a thrill

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