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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 120 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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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: chair · stick · temple · cold · ball · mouse · perch · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — an illness
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. ball — a dance
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. ball — a great time
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mouse — the animal

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