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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: snap · scale · row · leaves · bear · trunk · cap · saw

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. snap — to click
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cap — a hat
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. scale — size or range
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. row — a line
  24. bear — the animal

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