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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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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: cold · hand · face · ground · snap · perch · mug · stick

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mug — a face
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. hand — help
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — an illness
  13. snap — to click
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — to confront
  19. mug — to rob
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. face — to point toward
  23. perch — the fish
  24. ground — a position

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