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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
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: mine · perch · drill · snap · arm · can · saw · date

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. drill — the tool
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — a practice
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — for digging
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. snap — to click
  14. drill — army training
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. date — the fruit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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