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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: board · field · perch · pass · snap · face · spell · bat

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. spell — a short time
  12. board — a committee
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — farmland
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. board — to get on
  20. field — a subject
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. face — part of the head

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