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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.

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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: drill · mate · spell · chair · bat · perch · snap · club

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chair — a leader
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. spell — a short time
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bat — the animal
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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