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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: court · perch · bat · wound · bulb · snap · bore · stick

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bore — to tire
  7. court — of a king
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — of law
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. snap — to click
  24. bulb — for light

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