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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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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: last · hand · band · perch · snap · kick · firm · scale

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. firm — decided
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. last — finally
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. band — a ring
  11. scale — size or range
  12. firm — steady
  13. kick — in football
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. last — final
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. firm — a company
  19. band — a music group
  20. perch — the fish
  21. hand — in cards
  22. scale — in music
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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