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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.

Words on the sheet
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: hand · lean · perch · kick · snap · wax · drill · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. drill — a practice
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lean — thin
  8. drill — the tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. perch — the fish
  11. hand — help
  12. kick — in football
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — in cards
  19. lean — to bend
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wax — to grow
  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