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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · sharp · last · net · shower · straw · perch · clip

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. net — for catching
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — rain
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. clip — for paper
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. net — in sport
  12. last — finally
  13. perch — the fish
  14. net — after costs
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. sharp — clever
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — to go on
  20. snap — to click
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. clip — to cut
  23. last — final
  24. shower — to wash

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