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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 116 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: plane · fall · leaves · rash · club · perch · tear · snap

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. plane — a tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fall — the season
  7. club — for dancing
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. tear — to rip
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rash — a series
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fall — to drop
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. rash — hasty
  20. club — a group
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. club — for golf
  23. snap — to click
  24. rash — on the skin

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