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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: coach · tear · snap · temple · perch · drill · foot · saw

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. saw — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. snap — to click
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tear — to rip
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. drill — a practice
  14. foot — a measure
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. drill — the tool
  24. perch — for a bird

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